Book Review: Finding Emma by Steena Holmes

Finished October 29, 2013

Synopsis at Good Reads


Megan sees her daughter Emma everywhere. She's the little girl standing in the supermarket, the child waiting for the swings at the playground, the girl with ice cream dripping down her face. But it's never Emma.

Emma's been missing for two years.

Unable to handle the constant heartache of all the false sightings, Megan's husband threatens to walk away unless Megan can agree to accept Emma is gone. Megan's life and marriage is crumbling all around her and she realizes she may have to do the thing she dreads most: move on.

When Megan takes a photo of a little girl with an elderly couple at the town fair, she believes it to be her missing daughter. Unable to let go, she sets in motion a sequence of events that could destroy both families lives.


My review at Good Reads

4 of 5 stars

This was a Book Club read for me. I enjoy Book Clubs because it introduces me to styles I wouldn't normally read. I realize my taste in reading is usually dictated more by my tomboy side.

Half of Finding Emma was an inspection of the minds of Emma's parents, especially her mother, Megan, when their toddler daughter disappears after venturing out the front door into the front yard on her own. It also describes the different ways they react to their family trauma and are still reacting two years after their daughter’s disappearance. While I personally haven’t observed any close friends or relatives in the midst or a child disappearance or abduction, I have watched parents close to me deal with the grief of a child’s death. I found the behavior of both Megan and husband, Peter, to be very believable and how those behaviors affected their relationship and relationships with their two other daughters to be very real.

The other half of the book tells of grandparents raising their granddaughter, Emmie. The older couple’s daughter, Mary, was a runaway. In the beginning of the book it’s understood that Mary sent Emmie to be raised by her parents. Mary was in and out of a safe house where she was dealing with drug addiction. Emmie was now being raised by her grandparents who adored and cherished her. Grandma, Dottie, was very overprotective of her granddaughter, vowing to not repeat the mistakes she made with Mary. Grandfather, Jack, was supportive of his wife’s need to be a little overprotective of their granddaughter, at first anyway, and was very active with his beloved grandchild.

Later in the book, as Peter and Megan’s marriage is crumbling and Dottie’s mental state starts to really falter evidence about how it is that Emmie came to live with them starts to surface to Jack. I admit it was a good story but I’d already figured out what was going on; except I was wrong! I love a story that pivots into a completely valid explanation I wasn’t expecting and that is definitely what I got.

It's A Candy Cane Christmas!

I love this time of year!  Not the snow or cold, I really DO NOT like the snow or cold and I especially dislike, no hate, the ice.  But I love twinkling lights, the smiles that are so easy to bring out in other people, children seeing Santa for the second time (they always cry the first time, the second time they "get it" and are ready to see him!), Peppermint Mocha and scarves. I don't like the cold, but I love scarves almost as much as bracelets!  Oh there are dozens of things I love about December.  I could easily add how much I love giving gifts and the joy when I see those candies that remind me of the special people who I've been blessed to hold in my heart through wonderful memories and Christmases past.

Candy and how making sure certain candies are in my Christmas candy bowl was the inspiration for my Worldwide Christmas Freebies mini kit; Candy Cane Christmas.  The color combination comes from three Christmas ornaments from last year that have been in the Digitalegacies Designs ideas folder all year waiting for the rest of the Christmas inspiration to come.

The candy canes are for me; I love them and have since the candy canes Santa gave me as a kid and now watching them melt into my hot cocoa at home.  I give you Candy Cane Christmas!

Click preview to go to download

Enjoy more Christmas scrapbooking freebies at Worldwide Christmas Freebies!

 

I hope you enjoy all the freebies!

Have a VERY Merry Christmas!

Wednesday Hodge Podge

I’m joining Joyce at From This Side of The Pond for the Wednesday Hodge Podge.

1. Are you settling for something?

Interesting question. One could say I’m settling for a lot of things because I have to but I don’t think that’s really settling. That’s making the best of it when I have no choice of something better. I don’t think that’s settling that’s taking the most I can. I don’t think I’ve ever settled and I don’t know that I ever will.


2. It wasn't that long ago almost every store in the US locked doors and turned out lights on Thanksgiving Day. This year many will be open all day Thursday, giving shoppers a jump start on 'Black Friday'. In your opinion is this a good thing or a not so good thing? Will you be shopping on Thanksgiving Day?

Well this is a hot topic. No, I’m not shopping on Thanksgiving Day and while some services should definitely be open on every holiday including gas stations and restaurants for people traveling, providers of news and people who work in television and radio as well as hospitals and even the emergency veterinary clinic, shopping is NOT a vital necessity. Thanksgiving Day is an American holiday and as Americans probably the most important holiday of the holiday season.

Truth be told, I pretty much stay away from the mall and large retail stores from now until after February 1.


3. Speaking of shopping... I saw a recent article on the twelve best shopping cities in the world. In order they are-

New York, Tokyo, London, Kuala Lumpur, Paris, Hong Kong, Buenos Aires, Vienna, Dubai, Madrid, Milan, and Seoul.

Ever shopped in any of the cities listed? In which city would you most like to pull out the plastic or cold hard cash?

Of the cities listed I’ve only been to New York and you could only say I “shopped” there if you include souvenirs and a couple of pieces of chocolate. I’m not what they call a “pleasure shopper.”


4. When did you last dine by candlelight?

David and I usually light candles during dinner when we’re at home on Valentines day and Christmas Day. Since we ate out for Valentine’s Day this year I guess it would’ve been last Christmas Day.


5. What do you have too much of?

Clutter; I can’t do housecleaning for more than a couple of minutes and David works full time and does other more important than housecleaning things that I can’t do. The hous is cluttered. I’m learning to ignore that most of the time unless we are expecting someone to come over.


6. The Hunger Games...are you a fan? Did you read the book(s)? Will you/have you seen the movie? Will you/have you seen Catching Fire? No spoilers please!

The Hunger Games… um… no.


7. Share your plans for Thanksgiving Day. The who, the where, the what...especially the what! As in what's for dinner? If you're one of my International visitors, whose homeland doesn't celebrate American Thanksgiving (the whole world doesn't ya know!), then still tell us your plans for Thursday.

For Thanksgiving Day David and I will have brunch at Cracker Barrel before he goes to work and I will scrap pretty much all day while I watch football and enjoy French toast-style Italian toast with tomato basil bread from Panera. We’ll enjoy leftovers from Monday for dinner gets home.


8. Insert your own random thought here.

Okay my random thought today kinda explains my answer to #7. We celebrated Thanksgiving with my dad and aunt on Monday. David works for the newspaper and Pop works retail. Yes, it’s working on a holiday but keep in mind there wouldn’t be retail stores open if shoppers wouldn’t rather shop than be with their families on holidays. It’s still holiday pay for the hours worked. And David, well remember what I said about media; we still need necessary information. So it’s okay to celebrate on the day they both have off work and can relax and enjoy family and the meal.

We had turkey that Pop roasted with the traditional fresh sage stuffing I made with Mom’s recipe. I made cranberry relish with my recipe on Saturday and brought it with me. Pop made mashed potatoes cream cheese, spinach and bacon; oh my! Aunt Judy made wonderful sautéed squash with zucchini and summer squash. She also made a dessert to go with the pumpkin pie. It’s a four layer pumpkin pudding something… Who really cares what it’s called; it was fantastic and everyone had a second helping.

It was a small gathering and a wonderful day with family talking about family and enjoying a great traditional feast. So our Thanksgiving wasn’t on the Thursday. We still have each other and glorious abundance for which to be thankful. And it was Monday so it was a very authentic Thanksgiving; there was still football.

The End of an Era

Jonathan E. Camaro is no more. I haven’t driven in over a year and I haven’t driven the Camaro since March 2011. I knew I wanted to get the car out of our garage but I had no idea how to sell a car or get rid of it in any other way. I think maybe I didn’t want to either. But at the beginning of this year I decided it was time to let go.

The 1994 hot red Camaro was my third car and my first brand spanking new car. My 1987 Camaro had gotten to the point where I was essentially making a car payment for repairs almost every month. It was time for a new car. Since I was at the dealer, again, for repairs I went into the showroom and spoke to a salesman. I was just looking. I asked him to tell me about the new Camaros.

They really were new cars too. 1994 was the first year for this model of car. I had seen the new Camaro sitting in the hallway at Cobo Hall in Detroit on the way to Rockers indoor soccer games a few times at the end of 1993 and loved the car. A test drive later and I asked Larry, my salesman, to tell the repair shop to hold my repair order this time.

I asked my dad, barterer extraordinaire, to come in with me, see the pretty car, meet Larry, and make that beautiful car one I could afford. I told Pop the absolute highest car payment I could make each month and that I was willing to pay five years to finish but I wanted that car. There were some safety features that he wanted to be sure were on the car and that included the car alarm. After a little talking he was happy because all of the safety features he wanted would be on the car, Larry was happy because he was making a sale and I was ecstatic because I was getting a new car!

There were a few awesome things about that car. The first was that the loan was in my name and my name alone; no cosigner. I made every payment and the car was 100% mine. It was a fun car to drive. Because the model was so brand spanking new it was a guy magnet too! For the first couple of years that I owned that car I made sure that I was dressed well, full make up and nice hair every time I drove it. Well, you know… I never got a date because of the car but boy I enjoyed lots of fun flirting.

The weekend after I got the new Jonathan I went to visit Grandma and Papa. I went into the house and announced “I took Jonathan in for repairs and you should see what they did to him.” Papa stood up, put down his paper and said “Come on Mom, let’s go see her new car.” Nobody called ahead to spoil my surprise, Papa just knew.

The stuffed cherry in the picture was a gift from Papa that weekend. He called my new car’s color “fast, cherry-ass red” and warned me to watch my speed because the police would be looking for me. (Yes the car was fast but the truth is the two speeding tickets I’ve gotten were when I borrowed my dad’s sport-utility vehicle.)

Now the vignette you see above is all that remains of that first major purchase that was completely in my name; my first real adult contract. I’m not physically capable of driving a car or even cleaning one out and David did all the work. I’m so lucky that he still “gets me.” Cherry and Rudy, the teddy bear I bought while Christmas shopping in 1987 lived in that Camaro and moved to the new Camaro in 1994, were very important to me. He also came home when the car was being towed to go to auction. I donated the value of the car at auction to the MS Society. David did one last check to be sure nothing was left in the car of personal value, especially making sure that he had taken Cherry and Rudy out for me already. He knew it would be important to keep them. This morning he also brought in the hubcap that had fallen off and was left in the garage; one last memento.

I didn’t take a picture as they were towing the car out of the driveway. I don’t want to remember Jonathan that way. I never really liked driving but that car made it bearable because it was a fun car to drive. I’ve read that letting go of things you can’t do because of MS is important in accepting your new reality. I guess I can say that I’ve accepted it now since I had made the decision to donate the car at the beginning of the year and didn’t shed any tears as I watched it leave the driveway. I was prepared to bawl my eyes out but I didn’t cry. It didn’t feel like mine anymore. I just said goodbye to that part of my past. I’m finally ready to move on.

I Found The Good Stuff!

That was my breakfast this morning I finally found my Panettone solo uvetta, senza canditi; only raisins or no candied fruit. That’s not the common and traditional way to make panettone but I don’t like the candied fruit and and never have. Mom didn’t like it either but loved the panettone senza canditi and every year Noni found a panettone senza canditi for her daughter-in-law and her granddaughter for Christmas. Now I make a point of finding only raisin panettone for Christmas in remembrance of my grandmother and my mother and because it just tastes so great.

It usually takes searching before I find my panettone. Shopping online helps! So when I ordered my traditional Italian Torrone candy, I added a couple of the mini panettone like the one I had for breakfast in case I still couldn’t find full size. The candy shop didn’t have panettone solo uvetta in larger packages. But I did find 2.2 pound panettone senza canditi at a different store online and bought two. Now I’ll make sure keep my hands off one of them so I have it for Christmas breakfast.

That was breakfast this is now

Skipped a few hours there because the bus called and I went shopping! Yanno, it is SO cool to use the paratransit bus for something all by myself that’s NOT a doctor’s appointment! I did some Christmas shopping including finishing all of my Secret Santee shopping. Now I’m not going to say what stores I shopped at because my Santee might just read The Chronicles of Nani. Besides I bought a few other things that might also be for someone who reads my blog. You never know.

No one has ever asked me how long it takes me to shop. I never have been a huge shopper. In my teens and early 20s I could spend a day at the mall with my mom or with friends but I don’t think that really counts. I like to shop for Christmas things alone and I really do enjoy that. If I want an opinion I like the unbiased input from clerks and other shoppers. So today I had a mission, one place that I wanted to go and to make my trip reservation with the bus I had to be able to sell them how long I’d be. Hmmm… One store, one list with a few different names and a few different things and some choices I knew I’d have to make for those things. So I guessed two hours. It took me one at the store I planned to visit. Since I had an hour before the bus was scheduled to pick me up and the rain had let up I motored to some of the other stores in the center and did a little more Christmas shopping!

One of the stores was Family Dollar. David doesn’t do dollar stores or discount stores; what Grandma used to call “junk stores.” Don’t get me wrong there, Grandma loved going to “junk stores.” What wonderful places they are for craft notions and the little things we use every day that aren't meant to last. Frankly I’d rather pay two dollars for something that lasts a month than pay five dollars for something that last two months. Sometimes the natural female shopping gene just makes more sense than the male “I hate stores” gene. I don’t get to go to those stores so much anymore because when I get together with girlfriends it’s for catching up over lunch, dinner or coffee. I was very happy when I passed the windows and realized the next door was to Family Dollar. I only had a half hour left so I was careful and well behaved and next time I’m grabbing a bigger basket! But this is where I found a special little something for me:

Isn’t it just SO Nani? I collect coffee mugs and I just adore the word art with a single word or subject in many fonts and it’s the word coffee! My little giftie for me was only a dollar and a large size from my Keurig brewer with a tablespoon of Coffeemate is a perfect fit! I love my new mug! They have a mug that says cappuccino in orange and cocoa in purple too. I may have to plan another trip to Family Dollar after the holidays. The really good news to me was when David came home for lunch I showed him my new mug and I told him it was only a dollar. He smiled. He understands that a good deal on a mug I really like is the same thing as a good sale on model train cars that fit his layout for him. .Ah, marital bliss!